Great Strides 2009

It was time again for the Great Strides Walk to Support Cystic Fibrosis research back on May 2, 2009.

Went to Toledo again to walk with Breanna and her sister Mandi pictured above, and many friends shown below! Thanks to Mandi's Alpha Phi sisters and other friends from BGSU who came to support her as well as Bre's gang from Sylvania.

Mom and Dad were there too.

I did not send out any emails asking for donations this year... But I believe you can still support the cause of you're interested. Follow this link.

NEED A LITTLE INSPIRATION? CHECK OUT THESE FAST FACTS ABOUT CYSTIC FIBROSIS FROM THE DETROIT CHAPTER WEBSITE AND REMEMBER YOU MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

About 1000 new cases of cystic fibrosis are diagnosed each year.

Of the 30,000 Americans with cystic fibrosis over 900 live in the state of Michigan.

Currently, there are more than 30 potential CF therapies in the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s drug discovery and development pipeline; 50 years ago there were none.

Today, more than 45 percent of all people with CF in this country are 18 years or older.

In the 1950’s, few children with CF lived to attend elementary school. Now, due to advances in research, many people with CF expect to live into their 30s, 40s and beyond.

Everyone is important - So support your own causes however you can!

100 Reasons

1. USA 100, 2. Glittering Value, 3. Ben's Eye

Seems quite amazing to me that I have hit 100 posts! At our house, adding a digit is a big deal. When Ian turned ten, he got a trip to Walt Disney World. After all, you are in double digits a long time! So triple digits seems pretty cool!

I thought and thought about how to best mark the occasion of my One Hundredth Post here at Finer Than Frog Hair. As usual, the Universe tends to present me things as needed.

Got an email from my friend Edwina stating that she would appreciate donations for a "Whisker Walk" she is participating in toward the end of the month near her home. The monies would go to the Lakeland Animal Welfare Society. Their mission is to:

• Provide temporary care for stray, abandoned and unwanted animals.
• Own and operate a rescue vehicle to pick up stray pets from municipal holding areas and private citizens.
• Respond to injured animal emergencies 24 hours a day.
• Employ a humane Officer to investigate cruelty and abuse complaints.
• Maintain records on lost and found pets.
• Have available humane live traps for animals requiring capture.
• Seek good homes for pet adoptions.
• Provide a resource library.

The Lakeland Animal Welfare Society owns and operates The Lakeland Animal Shelter.

What a great opportunity to mark my milestone as well as remembering the little black kitten the husband and I tried to rescue last spring and my baby girl Alice. I'm sure Alice's brother Geezer appreciates the gesture too. One dollar for each post I've made seems a bargain. Far cheaper than therapy!

Want to help me celebrate? Pop over HERE to her donation page and help out. I am certain that donations of any size would be appreciated. If that doesn't work for you right now - do a kindness of your own creation.

Imagine if she got one hundred donations or how 100 acts of kindness could change the world!

Either way - thanks for hanging out here with me!

Walk For Wishes

Last Saturday, June 28th, between the down pours, I went with my Chi Omega Sisters to the Cleveland Zoo for the annual Walk for Wishes. This is an event which raises money to help the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater Ohio, Kentucky & Indiana. The organization grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions between the ages of 2 ½ to 18 to enrich the human experience with hope, strength, and joy. Chi Omega has chosen this as our national philanthropy, and we endeavor to support them in many ways throughout the year.

Please consider making a donation to Team Chi-O and Make-A-Wish at my event page here: PLEASE DONATE

We are so lucky in Cleveland to have a world class zoo within our metropark system. Thanks to them for allowing Make-A-Wish to hold the event here for another year! After the walk, we were treated to a wonderful lunch provided by Applebee's and Lay's. Kintico Water was another of the sponsors and we took full advantage of the hydration! Visit the sponsor page and see if there is anyone you might like to thank with your consumer dollars! I also took a stroll throught the Rain Forest with some of my actives from the Upsilon Mu chapter at John Carroll where I am an advisor.

Linda and I did complete the grueling three mile walk (just kidding... but that one hill was kinda tough!) I was able to take quite a few snaps along the way. All the creatures were very cooperative and posed nicely for me. My effect on the sloth has been officially documented: he was running throught the exhibit - you can see the blur! Oddly not the first time that has happened while visiting a sloth!

If you are in the area, do stop by and visit. They are sponsoring 2008 as the Year of the Frog, and they encourage you to leap into action! Many organizations have donated artist created frog sculptures through out the park for your viewing pleasure. You can commune with the Frogs, Dogs and Hogs! (Okay. Full disclosure: some of these are from last year. The giraffees for example are out courting and were not present in full force!) Enjoy!

1. wfw_umgals, 2. wfw_piranha, 3. wfw_lilac, 4. wfw_monkeyisland, 5. wfw_alienflower, 6. wfw_polarbear, 7. wfw_frog, 8. wfw_yellowflower, 9. wfw_iris, 10. wfw_vinesnake, 11. wfw_birds, 12. wfw_orangatan, 13. wfw_tomatofrog, 14. wfw_water, 15. wfw_um, 16. wfw_balloons, 17. wfw_reindeer, 18. wfw_lion, 19. wfw_aquarium, 20. wfw_gator, 21. wfw_elephant, 22. wfw_koala, 23. wfw_sculpture, 24. wfw_sloth, 25. wfw_giraffes

Making Great Strides

Many of you may not know that my neice, Breanna, has cystic fibrosis. As well as being an excellent student and very active in extracurriculars at her high school, Breanna is extremely committed to the fight against CF. I am excited that I was able to go to Toledo and walk with her this year at the 2008 Toledo, OH - Ottawa Park GREAT STRIDES walk.

GREAT STRIDES is the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's largest and most successful national fund-raising event. Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a devastating genetic disease that affects tens of thousands of children and young adults in the United States. Research and care supported by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is making a huge difference in extending the quality of life for those with CF. However, we continue to lose precious lives to CF every day. To learn more about CF and the CF Foundation, visit cff.org. Here I am with Miss Breanna. Our Team name is Breanna's Bunch - you can spot us next year, we're in the awesome green shirts! My sister Diana is Bre's mom. She and our mom Gloria set up a booth at the walk to help with the fundraising... we've got CF Beanies, BREATH bracelets, and dish scrubbers for your shopping pleasure! I helped a wee bit with the over flow customers. We really did walk! A total of 3.2 miles through the park. Diana, Jack and good friend Libby walking anchor in this shot. Following the kids was rather entertaining... several choruses of The Ants Go Marching... a few Christmas Carols ... yup! entertaining is maybe not the right word! It had threatened to rain, but the day turned out quite lovely. The trees were in blossom and I couldn't resist a shot or too! The turn out was great and over all I believe the total money raised exceeded $210,000.00 Watch where you step! Other creatures walking too! Or wait... maybe they are marching! Do you see him? Here's (almost) the whole bunch... Bre's big sister Amanda was there with her boyfriend Scott - both are graduating seniors at Sylvania Northview this year. Of course Mom and Dad were present and accounted for! If you are interested in making a donation to be credited to Breanna's Bunch, you can do so through my web page for the walk HERE. I would truly like to thank those of you who have already donated - you are a blessing!

Together let's make CF stand for CURE FOUND!

It's Cookie Time!

Do you see that little bunny on the blanket? That would be me: circa 1969. Girl Scout Day Camp, Side Cut Park, Toledo, Ohio, age 4...

Mom was a leader for my sisters' Girl Scout Troop, and I was the tag along. The picture is the tail end of the "There were ten in the bed and the Little One said: ROLL OVER!" skit of which I was the STAR! Even before I was old enough to join officially, Girl Scouting was providing me opportunities to "do my best."

Since then, I joined a troop and grew up to lead one as an adult. I was able to attend a Wider Opportunity at National Center West in Wyoming. "Cadettes on Horseback" was an adventure for my 13 year old self: first plane ride ever alone and many new experiences and new friends.

We are a scouting family. As well as both my sisters, my mom and my neices were all scouts. (The boys were Boy Scouts, but we don't hold that against them!) One sister also participated in a Wider Opportunity, going on a sport adventure, and my neices have traveled with scouts as well, one to all the way to Our Cabaña in Mexico.

I share this with you because it's that time of year again - it's GIRL SCOUT COOKIE time! All of your favorites are here, as well as some tasty new varieties as well. I encourage you to visit the Girl Scout Cookie website and find a source to purchase them near you. Purchasing cookies supports your local organization financially, as well as helping the girls develop valuable skills they will carry with them throughout life. Oh yes - and you get to enjoy the cookies too!

On each box are the words COURAGE, CONFIDENCE, CHARACTER. These words definitely strike a cord with me, as these are the things I developed through scouting. That and a love of the Out of Doors, S'Mores, and Greasy, Grimy Gopher Guts!

Girl Scout Week is the week of March 10th. Celebrate along with them!

Do you have a good scouting story to share?

ONE World - ONE Heart

***DRAWING FOR THIS EVENT WAS COMPLETED FEBRUARY 14TH. YOU ARE WELCOME TO POST A COMMENT, BUT ENTRIES ARE CLOSED*** Welcome to my place! If you are stopping here because you came from the main even page I'm so glad you found me. If perchance you are a regular reader here is what this post is all about...

I came across the link to ONE World-ONE Heart and was really excited about what I saw there. This is the second annual blog-wide giveaway hosted by Lisa Oceandreamer. According to her blog set up for the event, "The original idea behind this was to bring bloggers together from around the world who may never ordinarily meet. It closes the gap of the blog community and enables us to interact, discover new and wonderful people." Here is her intention: "The blogging world is vast with more created all the time....and through blogging we can learn new things, read about other countries, learn of new ways to promote those vital issues, support causes as well as learn about new artists, writers, photographers et al. By having a list of those with a giveaway it is like a home tour with a map......going from place to place to see how others "live" and perhaps along the way make fabulous new connections and maybe win a door prize in the process." Enjoy your stay here!

The theme for my stop on the one world tour is: DREAMS.

They say that our dreams can tell a lot about us. I'm not talking about my dreams to learn languages, to travel, and to learn more about history and meaning, I mean the dreams we have when we are sleeping. According to Dream Moods , our dreams serve as a means for cleansing and release. Dreams are a safe outlet for our emotions. When we have a recurring dream, it is a clear indication that we have some unresolved issues to confront. We can be anyone, go anywhere, do anything in our dreams. So why am I dreaming the things I'm dreaming? I think I might be sending some signals that some change is in order! The other night, I first had a dream that I was selected to be in a beauty pageant. I had no gowns and went to Wal-Mart (!?) to pick some out. Surprise: I found nothing there I liked! Then I got back just in time to finish up to be ready to go on stage, when realized I had no make-up bag with me. Sigh..... "To watch or dream that you are in a beauty pageant, refers to your own insecurities about your appearances. You are constantly comparing yourself to others and how you measure up to them. You may also be subscribing to society's standards of beauty." So, I wake myself up, get a drink of water and go back to sleep..... This time in the dream I am taking a test. A science & math kind of test. I'm a chemist - no sweat, right! But I do not know one answer to any question. I do not even know enough to try to fake some work on the page for partial credit. Time is up and my page is turned in blank. "To dream that you are taking an exam, signifies insecurities, fear of not meeting others' expectations, and fear of failure." The next night, I dream that I am kidnapped by randomly scary people along with several other women. There is some torture involved.... I escape only to be chased and caught again by my captors. The captors are folks who are pretending to help me.... I end up killing them with a knife. Whoa. Very heavy! "To dream that you are being kidnapped, denotes feelings of being trapped and restricted. Someone or some situation may be diverting your concentration and your attention away from your goals. To dream that you are being tortured, indicates that you are feeling victimized or helpless in some relationship or situation. To dream that you are being chased, signifies that you are avoiding a situation that you do not think is conquerable. It is often a metaphor for some form of insecurity. To dream that you are carrying a knife, signifies anger, aggression and/or separation. There may be something in your life that you need to cut out and get rid of. " I'm thinking I need to take a closer look at how I am treating myself. There seems to be a major amount of self doubt here and fear of not measuring up. I am not focus on goals and avoiding things that need to be addressed. My subconscious is aware of this, but waking, I seem to be ignoring it. I've set my tone for the year and I think this qualifies as burning away some underbrush! I think I'd better take a serious look at what needs to be bolstered and what needs to be cut out of my life in order to bring some peace to my dreams... I want to get back to dreaming about my family near me, or flying through fluffy white clouds, or beautiful meadows of blooming flowers. Look up what those mean and you'll see why!

What have you been dreaming about?

In the spirit of the event, I too will be having a give away to thank folks for stopping by. We are recommended to close out the contest on February 13th. To account for time zones, and the fact that I moderate all posts, I will close out the give away when I wake up the morning of February 14th. Look for a post later that day which announces the winner! My prize is a small dream meaning book.

Please add a comment below which includes your name so that I can contact you when you win. I'd love it if you'd add something about icons that show up in your dreams and what they symbolize to you.